Is it time to remove my cats tail?

SteveJohn

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Well after many months of trying to help my cat with her tail it seems we are coming to a dead end.

She was attacking her tail badly making horrible noises. Cutting it and leaving deep wounds all over. She has an X-ray there was no damage. She had her tail saved and infections drained. She was put on antibiotics and steroids. After a while she seems to be doing fine and wouldn’t attack her tail. We keep her in until after Christmas and then decided to let her out again and she went mad.

She was also given gabapentin to maybe help with possible seizers and then Prozac which helped but it made her constipated.

We gave her good food and changed her diet up and she has plenty of toys. We thought maybe a boredom issue but she was doing it when coming in from outside.

Well she has started to do it again and the vet has given her some steroids again but it’s no good she just can’t help attacking her tail and I can be leaving a collar on her all the time.

963AEB72-FB1A-4371-9700-E5306DF85647.jpeg


This was her tail the first time.

What should I do I’m out of ideas apart from the last resort as to remove her tail.
 
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SteveJohn

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Hi. If she doesn't do it when she is kept inside, why wouldn't you just keep her inside?
She does do it when she is inside, it doesn’t matter if she is kept in or let out.
 

FeebysOwner

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We keep her in until after Christmas and then decided to let her out again and she went mad...
We thought maybe a boredom issue but she was doing it when coming in from outside.
Oh, from what I read above, I got the impression she was only doing it either right after, or while, she was outside.

You need to get a second opinion from another vet from an entirely different practice (to avoid colleague bias) - preferably a feline only vet - and see what they say. You can get a copy of all her records to share with the new vet to help reduce redundant costs/tests. There is a reason for it and more effort/research needs to be put in to finding out why and how to treat it. If it is not resolved, what's to say you remove her tail and then she starts doing the same thing to one of her legs?

How old is she? And, has she been through an extensive check up - including a full blood panel (CBC, Chemistry Profile, thyroid) just to rule out an underlying issue? After a second opinion and testing with no answers, ask about consulting with a feline behaviorist.

If the Prozac helped, there are remedies for the constipation. There are also other treatments beside Prozac.
 
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SteveJohn

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She did it when I’m at first so we thought it may be a boredom issue so we started letting her out more but still did it.

She is flead every month on time and the steroids given are meant for any skin conditions and flea issues.

Gabapentin was meant to help with like
Nerve issues but didn’t do much.

I would say Prozac was the best option but she did become a bit weird when on it and constipated. I’ve brought a hairball/constipation treatment anyway for her:

I’d love to let her out all the time as our garden is prettt much closed off but she seems to always get into trouble so we decided to keep her in. That’s when things first started.
 

FeebysOwner

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Perhaps, the Prozac dosage was a bit too much? Or, another type of calming agent instead of Prozac? Also, do you have a place where you could build or buy a catio? It would allow her to be outside more, but it is a confined space so she wouldn't be able to wander off far and get into trouble. Depending on the size, cat perches/trees can be added inside it for extra 'entertainment'/stimulation.
All About Catios & Cat Enclosures - Catio Spaces
 
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SteveJohn

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It could be from stress too or it could be feline hyperesthesia.. can you pet her back without her starting to lick?
She doesn’t lick herself but I have noticed her lower back twitching on its own. We tried gabapentin for the feline hyperesthesia as that was suggested to have helped others but it didn’t really help.
 
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SteveJohn

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It could be from stress too or it could be feline hyperesthesia.. can you pet her back without her starting to lick?
To be honest I think she is stressed, I’m also having to put her collar on to stop the biting which is not nice. Another visit to the vets I think Monday
 

fionasmom

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I have a cat with FH and personally believe it is a seizure disorder. Fortunately, she never mangled her tail like your cat did, but for a while it was certainly the object of her anger. My concern, as was already stated, is that your cat would direct this energy to another part of her body if the tail is gone and I think that a second opinion is a good idea, even a referral to a specialty clinic.
 

Margret

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Allergies?

Also, there's some good evidence that the proper probiotics can help with depression and anxiety disorders, and that shouldn't have any nasty side effects.

Margret
 
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SteveJohn

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She is on steroids for allergies/skin issues but I’m gonna ween her off then now because they aren’t doing anything.

The only thing that helped was the Prozac so I may just ask if we can lower the dosage more and suppliants her food with furball/constipation treatment I’ve got.

Vet is ringing me back today for a discussion on what we should do next.

She isn’t speaking to me now 😂 won’t come near me or even let me stroke her because I’ve had to put a collar on her but at least it’s a soft one.
E3D1C335-80C5-4213-97CA-001D2DB7ACEB.jpeg
 
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SteveJohn

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UPDATE on Luna.

She has been put back on Prozac but at a lower level and suppliented with some hairball/constipation gel in her food.

She hasn’t bit her tail since and is happy, she is going out then coming in and usually she’d bite her tail but she just chills out now and goes sleep then wakes up has a little moan and play stuffs her face and then goes sleep until early in the morning and goes out in the garden most of the day trying to catch birds. Gonna ween her off the stuff in a couple of weeks and see how she is then.
 

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UPDATE on Luna.

She has been put back on Prozac but at a lower level and suppliented with some hairball/constipation gel in her food.

She hasn’t bit her tail since and is happy, she is going out then coming in and usually she’d bite her tail but she just chills out now and goes sleep then wakes up has a little moan and play stuffs her face and then goes sleep until early in the morning and goes out in the garden most of the day trying to catch birds. Gonna ween her off the stuff in a couple of weeks and see how she is then.
Any update on luna. How is she doing on the Prozac. Is it managing her fhs symptoms? I have a cat who recently developed severed fhs and is currently on gabapentin. However her fhs is not resolved and I emailed the vet about adding another medication like Prozac
 
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SteveJohn

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Any update on luna. How is she doing on the Prozac. Is it managing her fhs symptoms? I have a cat who recently developed severed fhs and is currently on gabapentin. However her fhs is not resolved and I emailed the vet about adding another medication like Prozac
I have decided to take Luna off Prozac a long time ago. I changed her diet to good food and skin supplements. I Try not to touch her back or tail And have built a catio so you can go outside at night and not get bored. She has attacked her tail maybe once in a couple of months and I put a soft collar on her when she did it. Also need to check she hasn’t got cuts or bite marks which are irritating her to cause he even more attacks on her tail.
 
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